I am Finally Back to Dance in Universal Collective Prayer!

I meant to be back much sooner than this but unfortunately just days after my vacation I got a flu...don't know if it was swine but it was bad none the less...but I'm recovered fully now...and was able to get my things in order..so now I'm back! It will take a while to build and feel the energy and love as strongly on here again but I hope to soon and to have you...dancing, singing, spinning, loving and surrendering in Universal Collective Prayer again in no time on here! :)

As we build the energy back this might be a good time to pause and not dance and seriously let you know a bit more about my thoughts behind the prayers...

You will see I have finally introduced that new banner at the top and a little logo at the bottom of the page. It was designed by my sister in Universal Collective Prayer- Adriana Ochoa and is meant to reflect what the prayers is all about. My idea is that there is a lot of spiritual talk out there on the planet in recent decades...people love to say they are spiritual and not necessarily religious...but all of us came from some religious origin...even if our parents were atheist we had grandparents perhaps who followed some religion...at least religion is out there and it for sure impacts us...yes for decades religion has been misused in so many ways by its leaders and followers...but why we only hear the bad side? I think it is wonderful all the rich and lovely religious heritages that are out there on the planet...and why can't we all just dance and share in it! :) In fact I feel that dancing energy building already! :) Yes there are different things in certain religions that make them different from others...some things cannot be reconciled...but there are also so many commonalities...and I believe it is possible to in essence dance in Universal Collective Prayer.

Here on the prayers I mostly try to embrace the commonalities...but I am just a human being like others visting the prayers and really this is also simply my humble journey into the prayers...I am merely dancing forth myself...this is my journey...this is my song...and sometimes my feet may stumble on a pebble...my toe can be pricked by a thorn! So I can only engage in Universal Collective Prayer in the best way I know how...I am from a hinducentric origin and so I will always be looking at the prayers from those eyes...but I am honestly trying here to find universality...this is not a blog about pushing any religion over another but it is however limited by the abilities of the human who is writing it...and so it will start from my eyes and spread from there...So far I find it easiest to embrace the other South Asian religions in origin that are very similar to Hinduism i.e. Buddhism and Jainism. However I also see and feel the dance in Sufism and to me the ultimate surrender for sure resides in Christianity especially in how it is expressed in Catholicism.

I continue to wish to learn more on the prayers though and comments and feedback are always welcomed. Also if someone wants to guest blog on a specific aspect of Universal Collective Prayer that they feel they would be good at...please contact me by emailing me at admin(@)meadysmusings.com

One more thing I should explain before I leave you tonight is that the reason the prayers...I wanted it to be collective is apart from the need to have universal prayer i.e. prayer across the religions I believe there should be collective prayer too. I write about this at the top (in the blog's description) to some extent...as in 2008 I took part in an event where candles/deeyas were being lit across the world...in the name of freedom...it was an event for something not against anything...it was not a protest but a prayer...and at the little local event I had...I really felt the power of it...I really felt there was indeed universal collective prayer...and so I wanted to continue that on here...the intention experiment is also a bit like that...and I have taken part in it before...

So I will continue with the prayers from now on as I see it on my journey...this is not necessarily a blog to capture all the religious festivals...and I've done quite a bit of that already since the inception of this blog...so you may start to see where I won't re-do a festival I covered before...doesn't mean I won't do festivals either...what I am saying is I will go wherever the universal dance takes me! :) And of course I want this to be collective so if my readers want me to cover something...let me know and I will try as best to show that dance here! :)

I can never only be all straight face and so I leave you tonight with some of the sights of my vacation. It was parts where I went on a journey into Universal Collective Prayer...taking shots of some of the churches in Santa Fe, New Mexico...especially noted here is how the Native Americans started to join in Universal Prayer as they embraced Christianity (I know some will say by force which can never been seen as good but surely some stayed cause they saw light in there too?) and below you will see the first Native American saint. And at the end of the pics you will see when Universal Collective Prayer gets so cheesy and cheeky...I guess only in America but they charge you too see a Miracle and then tell you can only take pictures for your personal use...it maybe a genuine miracle...I believe in 'em...but you will just see the external in the famous case of the Loretto chapel's staircase! :)As I play by the rules and will keep the staircase pics for my personal use only! In particular though I hope you look on in awe as I did at St. Francis and his doggie...aaawww! :)



The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis Asisi

Advent Calendar:The 2nd Day of Christmas-The Gift of Dance in Prayer!

Universal Collective Prayer in Action Courtesy Tibetan Government in Exile

Photo republished from the Tibetan Government in Exile web page - http://www.tibet.net

Today the Tibetan Government in Exile carried out a day of fasting and prayer I say carried out since it was done in India and that is about 9 hours ahead of Trinidad time I believe so fasting there that started at 7 AM will be finishing off at 7 PM there which is about 10 AM Trinidad time. The web is buzzing today with details on the fast so I won't go into it here as a simple seach for 'The Tibetan Government in Exile' on google or other search engines will give you all the details of the fasting and prayer being carried out for healing of pain and sufferring caused by all the riots etc. and the health of the Dalai Lama. Well any search outside of China that is! That's the thing about Universal Collective Prayer it can happen in any space and time and it is just like the candle4tibet experience again. So the people in India and that region would have started off as they are in the East but the fast then continues on into different time zones as you move westward. In this case it is a 12 hours fast so you also have where in the period of 7 AM to 10 AM in Trinidad we would have been fasting and praying while the people in India would have still be in their 12 hour period.The Dalai Lama although hospitalised for 'abdominal pain and exhaustion' also took part in this fast in India it seems from a press release.

I'm off to a nature retreat and it is a very long drive for me so I don't plan to fast the whole 12 hours. I plan to pray along the way in my heart and mind in the best way I know how. If you read my other blog postings you might realise that these days I'm a Shiv Bhakt (devotee) so you I will be comtemplating on Shiv as I see him as the the supreme guru and a super yogi...I think looking at the murti image I'm attaching below says it all at least for me! So I contemplate on his image and try to emulate his strength and determination in yoga, meditation and self realization. Please reflect on the image if you like too. I say plan as the kind of nagging that has already started by some of my family members even before the trip and with road conditions unknown...I can only plan to do so...as I'm not perfect and on the personal level it won't be collective prayer since I can't guarantee the mindset of others in my car. But at least on the universal scale there is collective prayer.

However, I invite all to take part in Universal Collective Prayer today with me in the best way you know how. The image I'm attaching below is of a Shiv murti in Rishikesh India that I have the permission to use from a friend I made on Flickr called Jarmo Tuisk and through his kindness and generosity I can use it here. He gave me this right when I shared with him how much the image meant to me and how much it inspired me. Thanks again Jarmo and Shiv's blessings!

I also look forward to comments here or otherwise on this experience. May God Bless Us All!

May God Fill Us All with Universal Love and Compassion!

Today I launch the blog Universal Collective Prayer. It is the morning of the celebration of Krishna Janamashtami. I'm republishing this beautiful image from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International Art Gallery of Yashoda Maa bathing the Baby Krishna as according to Vedic culture, Hinduism and especially Vaishnavism the Lord Vishnu appeared in his 8th incarnation on the earth in the form of the Baby Krishna on this night. This afternoon I will perform Satnarayan (Satyanarayan) Katha a ritual that worships the Narayan form of Vishnu and celebrates the power of Sat- Truth and the Lord Narayan is worshiped as the embodiment of Truth in this prayer. The Katha is a story that illustrates the power of Truth. Later on into the evening I plan to join with others across the globe in Lighting Candles for Tibet (in my case only deeyas this time) and then will join with the rest of the Hindu world in the commemoration of Baby Krishna's appearance on earth by celebrating Krishna Janamashtami at 12 PM tonight.

When I first envisioned this it was based on the fact that the two events coincided- the candle4tibet event which Ive been involved in http://meadysmusings.blogspot.com and Krishna Janamashtami. Even before I realized this I had planned to do the lighting for Tibet this time at my home after a puja and I had figured on the celebration of Truth hence the Satyanarayan Katha. I had enjoyed my first candle4tibet event so much but did not have the strength or felt the local interest would be there for another public lighting. I figured it did not matter if it was public as the power of collective prayer could be felt at my home and by linking up with others in spirit globally. So I was going to experiment with this instead. However realizing that the day coincided with Krishna Janamashtami celebrations here. I opted to start at home and then take it to the local temple. I'm yet to see how this entire universal collective prayer experience will turn out and of course I plan to share it here on this blog.

However after the beautiful experience that was the Candle4Tibet event on Thurs 7 Aug 08. Ive been having so many mixed feelings...with Buddhists (converts mostly) coming and going on about their religion. People letting me know that H.H. Dalai Lama is not a vegetarian. People mouthing off to me bout what my heritage and the truth bout what my lineage may or may not really be. I guess oh Lord help us all the questions of who is right and who is wrong plagued us all as usual! These things sully the prayers. And if you believe in reincarnation as many who follow eastern thoughts do we will all have experiences as different races, sex, religion, caste and class at some point in our existence so...really so what?! It made me realize too that the Truth as powerful as it maybe is always relative and can so easily be sullied. To be honest in all of this I don't know what is the Sat? What is the Truth? But simply this which I guess is my Sat, my Truth. Perhaps that is what it as Shakespeare so famously wrote 'To Thine Ownself Be True' and that's all we can do. Our life on this earth is meant to be an experience for us to be able in the long run, no matter how many lifetimes it takes, to learn love and compassion for all beings. And there it was I found for now what is the Truth to fill out in my religion slot on Facebook! I changed it real fast from Hindu/Buddhist/Spiritualist to this after my recent experiences.

So I go into this evening's proceedings (as it thunders and rains here very much as it did according to the Vedic tale on the day that Baby Krishna came to earth) with this in my heart... this in my prayers. No matter who we are where our ancestors came from or how we choose to worship... Let us all show each other love and compassion. I truly believe this and so this is my truth that if we all focus on this and practice this piece by piece and as we get better at it...the truth will prevail...and we will all of a sudden realise that LOVE IS ALL THERE IS! (and I think I may have just quoted a Beatles song there...no rights infringement intended) Please reflect on my loaner pic from the Bhaktivedanta people and look at the love and beauty in it. A mother lovingly bathing her baby. Don't bother too much bout who was right and who was wrong who came first or who came last. Who was better and who was best or who is right now or wrong now. May God Bless Us All and fill Us with Love and Compassion to All Beings of the Universe!

I also look fwd to the next event on Sat 30 Aug when the Tibetan Governtment in exile is hosting a global day of fasting and prayer. As quoted on the website www.tibet.net-

The committee has appealed to the Tibetan supporters, champions of truth and non-violence around the world to join in this non-violent effort to reduce one's defilements and to create wisdom and compassion in the minds of the oppressor.

It aims to bring solace to the departed souls of all those Tibetans and who are still enduring atrocities under the brutal Chinese oppression from their sufferings, and for the truth of Tibetan issue to prevail soon.

While observing the fast, people will recite prayers to enhance the collective merits of the Tibetan and Chinese people and long and healthy life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.